Brigid's bridge nine-year gap
April 30, 2010St. Brigid's will have senior championship hurling to look forward to next year following their first intermediate triumph since 2000 and their third since 1995.
As a club which was fighting for its very survival not so long ago due to falling numbers, last year's success spoke volumes for its resolve and determination to keep hurling alive and well in the Dalystown area. Sadly, one of St. Brigid's most dedicated members, Joe Quinn, will not get to see his beloved club make their return to the senior ranks in 2010 after he lost his battle with cancer on the night of the county final.
At the time of his death, Joe was club treasurer and his wife Dympna was club secretary, while their sons Darren and Stephen were members of the winning panel. Their younger sons Evan and James also play for the club at underage level. After the final, which Joe was unable to attend, he proudly held the Adrian Murray Cup and even wittingly remarked that it was a year late in coming to Dalystown, referring to St. Brigid's last-gasp defeat by Brownstown in the 2008 decider.
When word filtered through of Joe's passing later that day, St. Brigid's celebrations turned to grief. How someone like Joe, who had only learned of his illness a few weeks earlier, could be taken so suddenly left the entire community both saddened and bewildered.
After their 2008 heartbreak, nothing less than an intermediate title was going to satisfy St. Brigid's demands last year. Their hunger was evident right through a championship which saw them lose just once to Turin - a defeat they avenged in the county final.
Under the management of Rom Deegan and his selectors Jay Faulkner, Thomas Giles and Liam Casey, St. Brigid's registered the first of three draws in their opening group game against Fr. Dalton's at Moate's Hogan Park. Back in the intermediate championship after a decade-long absence, Fr. Dalton's looked set for a winning start until Dermot Faulker came to St. Brigid's rescue by scoring the equalising goal from a free in the fourth minute of injury-time.
Faulkner missed with his first attempt at striking the sliothar and, while he didn't connect cleanly with his second attempt, it still had enough power to find its way through a wall of Fr. Dalton's players and into the back of the net to give the Saffrons a rather fortuitous 2-8 to 3-5 draw.
St. Brigid's secured their first win when they proved too strong for St. Oliver Plunkett's in their second outing at Castletown-Geoghegan. Coming up to half-time, the sides were level on 1-3 to 0-6, but quick points from James Keegan and Faulkner gave the Dalystown side a 0-8 to 1-3 interval lead before they hit Plunkett's for an unanswered 1-5 after the restart to effectively end the game as a contest.
Man of the match Philip Sheridan accounted for the goal five minutes in and further scores from Thomas Geraghty and Dermot Faulkner meant that there was no way back for Plunkett's who succumbed to a 1-8 to 1-15 defeat.
St. Brigid's maintained their winning ways against Southern Gaels (1-18 to 2-7) before having to come from behind to salvage a 1-11 apiece draw with Delvin at Lakepoint Park. Rom Deegan's understrength side got off to a sluggish start and trailed by 0-1 to 0-5 at the end of the opening quarter. But a Robbie Kenny goal in the 21st minute brought them right back into contention and they had edged into a 1-6 to 0-8 lead at half-time.
The Valleymen were quickly out of the starting blocks again in the second half, hitting an unanswered 1-2 to go five points clear. But St. Brigid's replied with five points on the trot from Dermot Faulkner (three), Tom Geraghty and Seamus Faulkner in a six-minute period, and they were back in front entering the final 10 minutes. However, a late Killian Murphy free ensured Delvin of a share of the spoils.
Rom Deegan's men moved a step closer to securing their place in the knockout stages when they chalked up their third victory at Clonkill's expense in Kinnegad. The Saffrons could afford to amass 13 wides to Clonkill's three and still win by five points, 1-12 to 0-10.
Just as he had done against Delvin, Robbie Kenny swooped for a first half goal to give the Saints a 1-5 to 0-6 lead at the break. They went four points clear six minutes in the second half thanks to efforts from James Keegan and Darren Quinn. And although Mark Keegan replied for Clonkill with the first of his four second half points in the 40th minute, St. Brigid's hit back with scores from Keegan and the Faulkners, Dermot and Seamus, to open up a 1-10 to 0-7 lead and the result was never in doubt after that.
A late James Keegan goal handed St. Brigid's a 3-8 to 3-5 victory over Cullion in their next outing. Even after that, Cullion, who had trailed by 1-2 to 2-3 at half-time, had a chance to salvage a draw but Frank Shaw's first-time shot flew just wide of the target, much to the Dalystown team's relief.
A third draw with Crookedwood (1-10 to 0-13) at Kinnegad ensured St. Brigid's of their semi-final place. However, they will probably feel they left victory behind after racking up eight wides in the second half alone.
The sides were level on 1-4 to 0-7 at half-time with centre forward Philip Sheridan scoring the only goal midway through. It remained close throughout the second half with Darren Quinn's late free tying up the scoring for a final time.
St. Brigid's completed their programme of group matches with their only defeat of the campaign at the hands of Turin (2-13 to 0-10), but the result was academic as they were already through to the knockout stages. The Saffrons renewed acquaintances with first round opponents Fr. Dalton's in the semi-final at Kinnegad and, after another fierce battle, they prevailed on a 2-9 to 2-6 scoreline to reach their second successive final.
Favoured by the wind and driving rain in the first half, the Ballymore side raced into a 1-4 to 0-1 lead before St. Brigid's responded with points from Eanna Gallagher (two), Thomas Geraghty and Michael Geraghty to trail by 0-5 to 1-4 at the break.
When Kenneth Kincaid pounced for a second Fr. Dalton's goal within two minutes of the resumption, the favourites looked to be in trouble, but they refused to panic and two goals from the experienced Niall Seery and Dermot Faulkner in the 43rd and 48th minutes propelled them into the final.
Played on the same day as the All-Ireland football final (something that didn't go down well with many supporters), the county final was dominated by St. Brigid's for long periods, yet they were left hanging on for a 2-16 to 2-11 victory after a late Turin goal made for a nervous finish.
The sides traded early points before the first real breakthrough came in the 10th minute when Alan Aughey goaled for Turin. However, St. Brigid's hit back immediately with a pointed free from Dermot Faulkner, followed by a goal from Thomas Geraghty.
Once ahead, St. Brigid's really opened their shoulders and began to assert authority. Darren Quinn, Thomas Geraghty, James Keegan and Dermot Faulkner all found the target to give them a four-point interval cushion, 1-10 to 1-6.
A brace of quick points from the dangerous Derek Hourihane brought Turin closer after the restart before a 1-1 salvo from Philip Sheridan put the Dalystown side back in the driving seat.
Further scores from Keegan and Geraghty had St. Brigid's perched on a 2-13 to 1-8 lead heading into the final quarter, but three points on the spin had Turin within striking distance with six minutes to go.
St. Brigid's badly needed a score to settle their nerves and Dermot Faulkner provided it from a free but, with two minutes remaining, Turin were thrown a lifeline when Barry Nea netted. Crucially, Philip Sheridan and substitute Larry Poynton replied with points to secure St. Brigid's ticket to the senior ranks for 2010.
The Dalystown men were subsequently beaten by Longwood of Meath in the Leinster club junior hurling championship after defeating Carlow opposition in the first round. All eyes will now be on how they fare at senior level after a lapse of eight years.
The St. Brigid's team which captured the IHC title was: Emmet Brennan; Trevor John Gonoud, Damien Loran, Shane Gleeson; Brian Slevin, Dermot Faulkner, Kevin Connell; Darren Quinn, Bernard Kiernan; Eanna Gallagher, Philip Sheridan, Thomas Geraghty; Robbie Kenny, Michael Geraghty (captain), James Keegan. Subs used: Larry Poynton, Thomas Giles and Niall Seery. Tweet
